


You Can't Save Everyone

by gokaiblue



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27009250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gokaiblue/pseuds/gokaiblue
Summary: Sonic prides himself with being the fastest hero alive. However, there was one time he simply wasn't fast enough....
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	You Can't Save Everyone

**YOU CAN’T SAVE EVERYONE….**

Sonic stood in a rocky wasteland on Eggman Island. The wind was pushing past his quills, and clutched in his hand was a bouquet of flowers. He sighed, a single tear trickling down his cheek. Sonic's mind soon drifted to a past adventure. Normally, these memories would be focused on the thrill of each death defying stunt, but every time he went to this spot, the adventure that always came to mind was not one that he liked dwelling on.

The hedgehog had prided himself on being fast enough to save everyone. His speed was unmatched by anyone, so he was able to outrun anything that was thrown at him. However, in this particular adventure, his speed had failed him.

********

Years earlier, Sonic, Ray, and Mighty were on the hunt for Eggman in that same area. They had been here during a previous adventure, as evidenced by Ray recoiling at the mere sight of lava. Why Eggman chose this as his base once more was beyond the hedgehog, squirrel, and armadillo, but they weren't here to investigate. They were here to beat that Egg-head once and for all!

"Y'all ready?" Sonic asked his partners. Both of them nodded. "Okay, let's go!"

They were off! The three of them stayed relatively close as they took out several badniks. This was their favorite part of the whole adventure: destroying Eggman's toys. Once the badniks were cleared, it was time for the main event. Before that, however, the three of them set up camp inside a nearby cave.

"I got the snacks!" Ray exclaimed. Ray pulled out marshmallows and chili dog supplies from his satchel. "Sonic, would you open the can with your spindash? Don't spill it this time!"

"C'mon! I didn't make that big of a mess!" Sonic protested, causing Mighty and Ray to laugh. The hedgie grumbled as he spindashed the lid off the can. "Ta-da! And not a drop on me!" 

"Then what's that red spot in your face?" Mighty teased. Sonic blinked and licked his cheek. 

"Okay, one spot on me! Still better than last time!" Sonic crossed his arms and pouted.

The three of them soon sat down to their meal around the fire. Ray was the furthest away. "Fire still scares me." He said.

"Hey, it's okay. You did kinda almost get fried last time." Sonic replied, with a sigh. "Sorry, shouldn't joke about that."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Ray scoffed. "At least I didn't get as burnt as the bacon you cooked."

"Oh come on! You're still on that!? That was my first time!" Sonic was clearly annoyed.

Mighty laughed at this exchange. "Calm down. You're almost as red as Knuckles!" He exclaimed before composing himself once more. "Speaking of which, where is that echidna? And why didn't we bring Tails with us? We just using him for a ride out of here?"

"Yeah, I almost thought you were replacing us!" Ray chimed in. "Which sidekicks do you like better, huh?"

Sonic chuckled. "I could never replace you two. You guys found me after….after…." Sonic was having trouble getting these words out. Mighty noticed this.

"Hey, we don't need you to open up old wounds, bud. We're all orphans here anyway, so we understand." Mighty placed a hand on his shoulder.

Sonic smiled. "Thanks, I needed that." He regained his train of thought. "Anyway, Knuckles is guarding the Master Emerald. As for Tails, he's grown a lot since I met him, but….this is still too dangerous for him….I couldn't lose him."

Ray picked up on that last statement. What did he mean by that? Up until this point, his mood had been mostly calm and laid back, but that last statement gave him insight into just how Sonic saw them. "So...are we expendable?"

Mighty gasped. "Ray! That's not what he meant by—"

"Stay out of this, Mighty." Ray said. He seemed to be having another one of his mood swings.

Sonic blinked. "W-What!? No! That’s not what I meant at all!"

"Then what did you mean!?" Ray sighed. "Ever since you met Tails, you seem to not want to hang out anymore. We found you after your first battle with Eggman, cold and alone. We could have left you there, but we didn't. Why are we now just chopped liver!?" 

"You're not chopped liver!" Sonic barked back. He sighed. "It's just….Tails is still so young. He may be smart, but he's still just a kit."

"So!? That doesn't mean you ignore your best friends or only bring them when it's too dangerous for your A-Team!" Ray was fuming.

"Ray, that's enough!" Mighty yelled. He sighed. "What's gotten into you? You were just joking with Sonic not even a minute ago!"

"No...he's right." Sonic said. "I...I have ignored you guys for too long." He smiled. "Tell you what, how about we all go on a road trip after this, just the three of us."

Ray's eyes lit up. "You really mean it!?" Sonic nodded. Ray flew to the hedgehog and hugged him tightly. "Yay! It'll be just like old times!"

Sonic smiled. "Yeah, just like old times, buddy." He returned the young flying squirrel's hug before setting him down. "Anyway, we should probably get some sleep. Let's take turns being lookout. Don't want Eggbuttnik's toys sneaking up on us."

Ray pointed to himself. "I'll be the lookout first! I'll fly around the perimeter and scope out where Eggman is hiding."

"You sure you won’t fall asleep again?: You remember what happened last time." Mighty reminded Ray.

"I made sure to get a good night's sleep before we began our quest! I'll be fine!" Ray gave the pair a thumbs up as he flew off.

Sonic stretched as he laid down. "Hopefully he'll wake one of us up when he gets back. Goodnight, Mighty." 

Mighty smiled as he laid down. "Night, Sonic." The two boys were soon fast asleep.

****

"AAAAH!" Ray's screams echoed through the cave. Mighty and Sonic sprung awake. Both of them were panicked and worried as they instantly ran toward the source of the sound. What they found, however, wasn't pleasant. 

Ray was laying on the ground, his fur singed. The young squirrel seemed to be clinging to life. Sonic and Mighty gasped as tears filled their eyes. 

"R-Ray!" Sonic exclaimed as he rushed to the boy's side. He knelt down and took him into his arms. 

Ray gave a weak smile, wincing in pain. "Heh, I'll be fine. Just...got a little burnt and banged up by some badniks." 

"You got more than a little burnt and banged up, buddy. We need to get you back to the Tornado!" Sonic was determined not to lose one of his friends. He then rushed Ray out of the cave. In a flash, he was gone, being seen only as a blue and yellow blur. Mighty tapped his foot anxiously, worried sick about the young squirrel. 

Just as fast as he left, he was back. "He's stable….but I think I traumatized Tails." Sonic was doing his best to keep his composure as Mighty’s anxiety increased.

"Do you…" Mighty cleared his throat. "Do you think he's gonna make it?" He tried to fight back the tears that were waiting to pour from his eyes.

Sonic placed a hand on Mighty's shoulder. "Let's focus on the mission. We'll worry about Ray later." However, he knew that would be difficult as he felt Mighty's back tense up.

"I...I should have told him to stay back. I should have been on patrol first. He's not as fast as me and you." Tears filled the boy's eyes. "He was all alone, and now...he's gonna die because of me!"

Sonic slapped Mighty in response. "Pull yourself together, Mighty! We can’t worry about Ray right now! Our focus is on stopping Eggman!"

Mighty looked at Sonic coldly. "Would you say the same about Tails? What if he was on death's doorstep?" He narrowed his eyes. "Maybe Ray was right. We are expendable to you."

"I'm not saying I don't care about him!" Sonic barked. He sighed, composing himself once more. "We just don’t need to dwell on it. Keep moving." Sonic forced a smile. "After all, that's what Ray would want us to do, right?" 

Mighty closed his eyes as he fought back the tears, nodding. "You're right, Sonic. Ray wouldn't want us just to mope around." He sighed. "Let's go before Eggman escapes." 

Sonic nodded. "Race ya there!" He dashed off toward the direction he thought Eggman was located.

"Hey! Wait up!" Mighty whined as he ran after Sonic. Though he was fast, his speed was still leagues behind Sonic's. Mighty huffed as he finally caught up to the blue hedgehog. When he did, both of them soon spotted the large door in front of them. "Is this…?" 

Sonic nodded. "Eggman's office." He then flashed a smirk at Mighty. "Let's go say hi." 

Mighty nodded. The two of them both curled up into balls and revved up. Once they had stored up enough energy, they launched themselves into the door, making a huge hole as they burst through. They were greeted by a small battalion of badniks, with Eggman sitting in his chair, one hand stroking his mustache and the other on a control panel.

"Ah, I see you're using the B-team...or what's left of it!" Eggman roared. He let out a loud, throaty laugh. 

Sonic glared at Eggman. "Ray'll be fine. I can't say the same about you, Egg-head!"

The rotund scientist smirked. "Oh really? Badniks, attack!" He pressed a button on the control panel Immediately, each buzzbomber and motobug sprang into action. These weren't much for the duo as they spin attacked each one. When they had finished, all that remained were escaped animals and scrap metal. Eggman had used this time to get himself seated in his large four legged mech. The machine was equipped with heavy artillery, but its signature features were its four large legs. He grinned. "Don't think I'll be as much of a push over as my badniks!"

"Heh, we'll see about that!" Sonic retorted. He looked at Mighty. "Mighty, you get the legs. I'll attack him HEAD on. Eh? Get it?" 

Mighty groaned but nodded. "Got it!" Both boys began attacking their assigned parts, with Mighty carefully attacking the four feet of this metallic monster. However, he miscalculated one of his rolls as he felt the weight of the robot crush his leg. "AGH!"

Sonic, who now had Eggman in his grasp, heard Mighty's scream and dashed down. He carefully and quickly pulled Mighty out from underneath the metallic foot. As he did this, Eggman took the opportunity to fly away in his floating chair. "You'll pay for this!"

The blue boy carefully helped his friend to his feet. "You okay?" Mighty nodded. "Can you walk?"

Mighty attempted to put some weight on his foot, causing him to wince in pain. "Nope. I think my leg is broken." 

Sonic pulled Mighty's arm around his shoulder. "Lean on me, bud." A rumbling was soon heard as the cave began collapsing. "C'mon! Let's hurry!"

The duo began quickly going toward the exit of the cave, at least as quick as they could as Sonic supported Mighty. Suddenly, Mighty tripped over a pebble. A large boulder fell upon the boy's legs, causing him to scream in pain. At this time, they were nearly at the entrance but still had a long way to go. Sonic turned back toward Mighty, but the armadillo shook his head. "Leave me. The cave's collapsing. It's too risky." 

"I'm not going to leave you!" Sonic exclaimed. More rocks and boulders came tumbling down, threatening to block the entrance. 

"It'll be fine!" He winced in pain. "You've been...you've been a great friend. I'll...I'll see you again someday. I'll get out of here, I promise."

Sonic, fighting back the tears, shook his head. "No….I can save you!" He ran toward Mighty, but the vibrations caused a rock slide, appearing to crush Mighty underneath. "Noo!!" 

As this occurred, Sonic spied a river of lava beginning to flow toward him. As much as he wanted to save Mighty, one of his first friends, there was no time. He dashed out of the cave as it continued to collapse. By the time he was outside, the entrance was blocked by the boulders. 

A single tear escaped from his eyes, but he shook his head. Sonic didn't have time to mourn. He ran over to the Tornado as it was landing. Ray was no longer with Tails, but Sonic didn't pay attention to that, assuming he was being treated for his wounds and injuries. The two-tailed fox waved him down. 

"Where's Mighty?" He said as Sonic approached the biplane. The young fox kit noticed that Sonic wasn't his usual chipper self.

"He…." Sonic kept his tears from flowing, "He didn't make it. C'mon, let's get out of here." 

******

Years after the incident, the hedgehog was finally allowing himself to mourn. Tears streamed down from his cheeks. Though he had always visited the rocky area after the incident, he had hoped he would find Mighty in the surrounding rubble. However, he had to face the facts: Mighty was gone. Kneeling down, he pulled out a photograph from his satchel. Sonic felt a hand upon his shoulder. He looked up to see Ray standing above him, the scars from his injury still evident with an eye patch over his right eye. 

"You ready to go, Sonic?" He asked the teen. Sonic looked up at Ray as he wiped his tears.

"Just...just give me a few more moments." Sonic replied. Ray nodded as he limped back over to the Tornado 2 with his crutches. Sonic finished setting up the makeshift memorial and sighed. "Thank you, Mighty, for being the best friend a hedgehog could ask for. Wherever you are...I hope you're happy." 

He got up and walked back to the biplane, where Tails and Ray were waiting. As he looked back toward the cave, he swore he saw Mighty's face in the sky, smiling back at him. Sonic returned the gesture as he got on the wing of the plane. Though his first friend was gone, he wasn’t forgotten.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! Mighty and Ray being dead or otherwise incapacitated is kinda my head canon, tbh, at least in the modern universe. Sorry Mighty and Ray fans, but hey, I did make the bond between the SegaSonic boys closer.
> 
> ....Only to kill one of them


End file.
